Nawanshahr 3 October - The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) New Democracy has accused the Aam Aadmi Party's Mann government of Punjab of paving the way for its favourites to become Sarpanch candidates by preparing a block-level roster in the current Panchayat elections. Talking to select journalists here today, district party leaders Kulwinder Singh Waraich and Daljit Singh Advocate said that like the previous governments, the Mann government has also played this trick.
They said that when the new Panchayati Raj Act came into existence in 1994, the process of giving alternative opportunities to four categories General Category Male, General Category Female, Scheduled Caste Male and Scheduled Caste Female was started. At that time the election of Sarpanch was done directly. In 2008, the process of indirect election of Sarpanch started and the Panchs elected Sarpanchs. The first roster was canceled in 2013 during the Shiromani Akali Dal government and a block-level roster was prepared with direct election of Sarpanch.
The district-level roster was implemented in 2018 during the Congress government. Now the AAP government has brought a block level roster by making a roster of its own will, there are many villages where Sarpanchs of the same category have been elected for 25-25 years. In many villages, the turn of SC Sarpanch has not come for many years and in many villages the turn of Sarpanch of general category has not come. In Udapar, a big village of district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, the turn of SC Sarpanch has not come since 1998. In Rasulpur village, the turn of SC male did not come, in Manguwal village, the turn of general woman did not come for so long.
He said that the concerned DC has to prepare the roster and the DC releases the roster along with the election notification. The problem for the people affected by this is that their hearing is not done in any court, because according to Article 243D of the Constitution, once the election process starts, no court can stop the election process. There is no legal recourse left for the affected person.
He said that the High Court's instructions for ward division of the village Panchs have also been ignored. In 2013, in the case of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee vs State of Punjab, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed that while creating wards for Panchs, the continuity of houses in any ward should not be broken. New votes will be created in the same ward.
But now these instructions have been flouted in the ward division of Panchs. In many villages, the husband's vote has been cast in one ward and the wife's vote in another ward, similarly the continuity of houses has also been broken.
The leaders condemned the bidding for Sarpanch posts in some villages by taking money and called it undemocratic and demanded strict legal action against those doing so. Party leaders Avtar Singh Tari, Kamaljit Sanawa and Hari Ram Rasoolpuri were also present on this occasion.